Inside The Bills

According to CBS Sports NFL reporter Jason LaCanfora, the Bills will be releasing WR Brad Smith.

Smith, who has been on injured reserve apparently reached an injury settlement with the team and will be released. Now that he is healthy he will be eligible to sign with any other NFL club for the remainder of the season, except Buffalo.

The Bills will be releasing WR Brad Smith from IR today. He’s healthy now. Might be an intriguing option for a few teams with need.

Bills WR T.J. Graham was sidelined with a slight groin pull in Monday’s practice and did not participate in practice Tuesday. Head coach Doug Marrone is not taking any chances with the speed receiver as he intends at this point to sit the wideout for Friday’s preseason game against Minnesota.

“I don’t foresee him (playing) this week,” said Marrone. “I think tomorrow he’ll start running a little bit. I think when you get those types of things, little pulls and little strains, once you get them out there running it becomes how it feels when they’re
running full speed. That’s why it’s tough to gauge when he’s coming back, but right now in my mind I’m thinking it’ll be after this game.”

Graham will join Stevie Johnson on the sidelines as non-participants in Friday’s preseason game. Brad Smith is also unlikely to play, which will afford some of the younger receivers more opportunity to play.

There are a host of challengers for the kick and punt return jobs on the Bills’ roster, but with the release of the team’s first unofficial depth chart the incumbents are still at the top of the list at each position.

Brad Smith is still listed as the top kick returner on the depth chart followed by T.J. Graham and Marquise Goodwin. Head coach Doug Marrone touted Smith as one of their top specialists at the start of camp.

“He’s a core special team’s player for us and does it very well,” said Marrone. “We look at him as a receiver trying to get himself slotted wherever that may be at the end of the day competing for a position. And we feel that he has shown some very good progress having just been in one position. But the more I’ve talked to Brad (Smith) about the different places he has been, quarterback, whatever it may be. For us, right now our plan is just go ahead and compete at receiver. Obviously be a core special team’s player. And that’s his role on our team right now.”

As for punt return Leodis McKelvin is still atop the depth chart there, but if he remains in his current role as a starting cornerback, returning punts as well might be putting a lot on his plate for an entire season. His backups on the depth chart right now are T.J. Graham and Robert Woods.

There aren’t a lot of surprises on the Bills first unofficial depth chart. At receiver though where there will be a lot of jockeying for position and roles, it worth noting how things are laid out here at the outset.

The top four receivers listed on the depth chart are Stevie Johnson, T.J. Graham, Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. The next sets of pairings are as follows.

There are obviously still four preseason games to be played so these positions are likely to be shuffled somewhat before the preseason is over. Just knowing there are eight receivers in the mix for one or two of the final receiver spots should make for some heated competition.

We’re about a week into training camp and there are a lot of developments to this point. The QBs are both looking good, the offense is coming around. The defense looks aggressive. But there are a lot of roles that have to figured out. Here are some of your more popular questions from email at AskChris@bills.nfl.net and on Twitter @ChrisBrownBills.

1 – Chris,

I think the one player I’ve heard less of than Marcus Easley is Torell Troup. First of all, has he recovered successfully from his back surgery? Secondly, how has he been playing up till now? Finally, how does he fit in the new defensive scheme?

Edson Schaus
Delta Township, MI

CB: Troup is fully recovered and has come on in the early stages of camp after looking just okay in the spring practices. I attribute that to what equates to almost a two-year layoff from football. Now that’s he’s got a month of work on the field under his belt from the spring and is now in pads his game will only steadily improve.

He’s been running primarily with the second unit alongside Alan Branch on the defensive interior.

Coach Marrone had this to say about Troup just the other day.

“I see him better now than he was in OTAs and minicamp and doing a better job now and again when the physicality comes up that’s when more things go inside in terms of what they do up front with the line,” said Marrone. “I think he’s coming along well. There will be a point, there’s a process right now, but at a point you’ll see where there’s a window where the players says he feels good and then we as coaches will look for where the jump (in play) comes, and then we’ll look at that jump.”

2 – Chris,
Given Smith’s versatility, could you see him being kept on the roster as an option at running back, maybe in lieu of Tashard Choice, as a way to open up another spot for a different position. Smith has run from the wildcat, been solid on special teams, and looks competent at receiver. Adding running back capabilities does not seem like a stretch to me.

Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks as always for the great job reporting the goings on with the Bills

Jim from Allentown

CB: Thanks for the kind words. I think Smith is strictly a receiver. He recently took a significant pay cut, presumably to stay on the roster and try to earn a job. I think Smith has to truly shine in camp and the preseason games, though he does have special teams ability working for him in addition to his receiving talents.

I just don’t see this coaching staff interested in him operating out of the offensive backfield with the exception of an end around.

CB: Williams has fared well in his transition to safety. In the spring he was turning in plays on a daily basis. That hasn’t happened quite as much through the first five practices in camp. The true test will be the preseason games, but I think what is encouraging is Williams is playing with confidence and sounds eager to be a leader on that side of the ball knowing he has to help the ‘mike’ LB get the defense lined up pre-snap.

4 – Hi Chris,
Thank you for all your hard work all year round you do a tremendous job! A lot of the media around the NFL suggest that the Bills are in “Rebuilding Mode” and I have to disagree.

My thought is that the past 3 years have been very beneficial to this team as far as revamping the roster and that before the draft we had solid talent on both sides of the ball.

People also question the Bills abilities due to the fact that we don’t know who the QB is just yet. My question is do you feel that the coaching staff may think the same way about this team?

Do you think they expect this season to be full of growing pains or like me that this team should progress through-out the season and build to be a different team in December than in September?

And what are your thoughts as well? Last question do you know if the Bills away pants are going to be blue this season and beyond? I happen to love them! Go Bills! #BillsMafia

Jillian Nelson

CB: The roster that Doug Marrone and his staff inherits is not a thin one. There is plenty of talent on hand. Doug Whaley has told me point blank that they’re not rebuilding. He said they’re reloading.

With all that being said history in this league has shown that when you undergo as much change as the Bills have this offseason (new GM, new head coach, new staff, new offense, new defense, new QB) it takes time to pull all of that newness together and have it work seamlessly to post victories.

I think with the amount of youth on this roster that there will be some hard lessons learned. I also think there will be some of the most exciting football we’ve seen in a while from this team.

I do believe this team will make progress as the season wears on, but I wonder if their won-loss record will accurately reflect that progress.

As for the blue pants I don’t think there’s any reason why they’d be going away. It wasn’t my understanding that they were a one year and done type thing, but I’ll try to confirm.

5 – Chris,

I’ve been a Bills fan all my life and in the Army the last 10 and have been everywhere from California to Afghanistan and I know I can always count on BuffaloBills.com to keep me up to date with all the Bills news so thank you and your team for that. I was wondering when the coaches were going to release a depth chart so we could know who will be running with the 1’s during training camp. Also barring any injuries are the bills content with their current roster? or are there any Free Agents that might be coming to OBD. Thank you.

Thank you,
Derek at Fort Riley, KS

CB: Glad we can keep you connected to the team here at Buffalobills.com and thanks very much for your service.

As for the official depth chart, I think there’s a good chance we’ll see one in advance of the first preseason game sometime next week. Keep your eye out for it on Buffalobills.com.

Bills WR Brad Smith will be working at the ESPY awards tonight instead of sitting in the seats as a guest athlete. Here are the details.

Smith will be working as a correspondent for Men’s Health magazine and menshealth.com at ESPN’s awards show in Los Angeles tonight. He’ll be conducting red carpet interviews with other athletes. Questions naturally will be focused on what they’re wearing and their expectations for the night of sports awards.

Thanks for the uploading of the video of EJ Manuel’s pregame speech on BB.com. I, for one, needed to see that. I was questioning whether EJ had the fire for the job, and now I know. It was great to see.

One question about the release of Tarvaris: could one of the reasons for it be that the Bills are impressed with Jeff Tuel, and want to develop him as a future no. 2?

Thanks,

Kenny in Indiana

CB: I think the main reason for Jackson’s release was to thin the competition for the starting quarterback job from three to two. The coaching staff quickly came to realize that conducting a three-man QB competition while also installing a new offensive system was not going to work. The reason why is as much as you want to make the competition a fair one, you also have to make sure that you have a candidate that’s ready to play come the start of the regular season.

With the reps split three ways and the system new to all of the QB candidates, there was a risk that wouldn’t be the case. So they pared the pool down from three to two. This way either Kolb or Manuel will have enough time executing the offense in a practice setting to effectively run it in game situations come the fall.

Now that doesn’t mean they don’t like what they have in Jeff Tuel. I think they do believe his talents can be further developed. Long range he very well could be a backup to Manuel.

2 - Hey Chris ,

I was wondering, with the youth movement at one Bills drive from top to bottom there are a couple of players that were brought in by the previous regime, one of those players IMHO has never really lived up to his contract although he did give us a boost in the WR corps when injuries came calling. This player that I am referring to is Brad Smith. Given the fact that we have increased the talent level at the WR position 2 fold & the potential of that group with Stevie, TJ, Woods, Da’Rick, Goodwin, & the possibility of Easley or another player, do you see the current coaching staff keeping Smith around ?

Given the upside of this group & the apparent future movement & then you throw in his contract I can’t see why they would want to keep him around. I read from time to time fans talking about Brad’s athletic talents but even though he may be just that I don’t think that we can afford to keep him when we have others with much more upside & at a much cheaper price. At the very least we could trade him back to Rex for a future draft pick .

Thanks you are greatly appreciated !!

Mr. T from Fort Myers via Nashville

CB: I think teams with new regimes always have these kinds of decisions to make. Weighing the value of a veteran player at a position where there’s a lot of promising youth, but inexperience as well. Brad Smith in the spring practices certainly showed he can bring a veteran presence to the receiving corps. Playing there full time now, he may also be able to deliver more than he has in the past under the previous staff when he had a more varied role.

What the Bills have to weigh is whether his value as a veteran receiver is needed for this roster and the passing game to flourish. The long term upside of several of the young wideouts might be superior to that of Smith, but right now Smith might be deemed an option they cannot do without, especially with the potential of a young quarterback running the offense at some point this season.

Smith has proven to be pretty reliable in the spring practices.

The other side of that coin is this. Young receivers like Woods and Goodwin are players you want to get reps so they can develop quicker. If Smith is out there getting reps, those are reps that the two draft choices are not getting.

So I believe if Woods and Goodwin flash early and often in training camp it could vault them up the depth chart and possibly convince the staff that they can be relied upon to play significant roles. If that proves to be the case then what you suggested is possible.

3 - Chris:

If Jairus Byrd refuses to sign with the Bills, could the Bills allow his agent to contact other teams in an attempt to workout a sign and trade deal for agreeable consideration? What impact (if any) would that have on the Franchise Tag?

CB: The Bills issued the non-exclusive franchise tender to Jairus Byrd. What that means is all this time his agent can talk to other NFL clubs to gauge his market value and see if there is a club willing to talk long term contract for Byrd.

Obviously the compensation under league rules would be a pair of first round picks. Of course a team interested in signing Byrd long term could come to the Bills and ask if they’d be willing to accept less than that.

If a sign and trade deal were to occur it would have no impact on the franchise tag for Buffalo. They could use it the following year.

4 – Chris,

Once again, hats off to you, Murph and Hannah for the great work you do for all of us Bills fans.

I recently started a thread for this topic and wanted to add your input. Who do you think were the best offensive linemen to wear a Bills uniform? What would be your “dream line”?

CB: I’m not going to pretend that I saw every Bills offensive lineman play, but based on history and what I have seen with my own eyes, my “dream line” for the Bills would be as follows.

Assuming that the Patriots win the AFC East division again, as usual, and that the NY Jets, who seem to be a team in disarray, finish last, a battle between the Bills and Dolphins will be shaping up for 2nd place in the division. Miami seems to have really improved this off season, and the Bills also. Since the 2nd place team might have a shot at the playoffs, how do you think that the Bills and Dolphins compare?

LeeD

CB: In light of the offseason setbacks the Patriots have faced this offseason I don’t know that you can hand them anything. Still, as defending division champs we’ll go along with your prognostication.

In comparing the Dolphins and Bills, the one edge Miami does have is they are in the second season of their respective offensive and defensive schemes. So there’s a familiarity with execution there, particularly at quarterback.

Their defense was seventh in points allowed last year and their special teams were very good particularly in the return game. Their offensive line is a question mark, and that will impact the skill position talent they’ve added, especially at receiver.

So while I believe Miami will have a decided edge just based on the fact that they’re in year two under their coaching staff, I think the potential exists for the Bills to pull even and perhaps even pass Miami as the season moves along.

That according to offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who has a very young receiving corps in need of some veteran leadership.

“I think the good thing is Stevie has done a great job being out there and supporting everybody,” said Hackett. “He’s obviously had to have some growing pains in the new system so he’s been able to get a lot of mental reps. I think being out there helping those guys has been critical for all of them. His presence has been out there the whole time it’s just nice to see him in a helmet from our standpoint.”

Hackett also pointed to Brad Smith as a veteran wideout that helps with the younger receivers.

I don’t see how anybody can say that the Bills are good on the offensive line. The loss of Levitre left a gaping hole there. RT is a question mark, since Pears was injured all last year, and Eric Wood seems like he might be injury prone.

CB: I think your concerns about left guard are legitimate, but beyond that Buffalo has capable players for the starting roles and depth behind them. At tackle you have Cordy Glenn on the left and Chris Hairston on the right. Erik Pears is still limited, but when healthy more than capable himself on the right side.

Kraig Urbik is your right guard with Wood in the pivot. Depth-wise you have Zebrie Sanders as a tackle guard option once healthy. Beyond that it is a green group in terms of playing experience, but that’s the case for most of the league.

2 – Chris,

With the new high tempo offense, can we expect Doug Marrone to try to take a lead by choosing to receive this year?

Please say it is so,

Len in NYC

CB: I’ll have to ask him about that to be sure, but most NFL head coaches have found that the research shows if you choose to defer you typically wind up with the last possession of the first half. Obviously by deferring you also get the first possession of the second half. Those back-to-back possessions are seen as valuable in the eyes of many coaches. However, if your defense is substandard it might be wiser to choose to receive first if you win the toss. I’ll see if we can get an answer on coach Marrone’s philosophy on that.

3 – Hi Chris:
Now that the draft is over and we still need some positional fills, who do you think the Bills will go after in FA to fill those voids (like OL, LB, CB)?

Thanks for delivering!
Mike from Orlando

CB: I think cornerback could prove to be the most pressing need. Buffalo has some interesting young talent at corner among the undrafteds, but there’s already a good deal of youth at the position. I wouldn’t be surprised if they added a veteran to that group at some point.

4 – Dear Chris,

My questions are about Brad Smith, I have heard he has looked good this spring as a WR. Is this his only role now or could he still be a wildcat/#3 game day QB? Will coach Marrone even employ the wildcat? If not could Smith be on the trade block at some point this off season?

Either way I wish him the best the coming season. He’s a real asset as a triple threat and that seems to be something this new staff seems to value.

I hope to hear from you soon on this as I’m sure I’m not the only fan to be wondering about Brads future here. As always GO BILLS!!!
Thanks,

Scott Kane,
Seneca,Pa.

CB: Yes, Brad Smith is strictly a receiver and a return man at this point. Based on coach Marrone’s comment on the Wildcat after the draft, I highly doubt we’ll see it as any respectable part of Buffalo’s offense.

Smith to his credit has performed well in OTA practices. He and T.J. Graham have probably benefited the most from the absence of Stevie Johnson on the practice field.

As for the trade block, I think we’re a bit ahead of the game at this point. There’s a lot of evaluation that needs to be done by this coaching staff.

5 – Hi Chris,

Firstly, thank you for your coverage. As a Bills fan since 1986 living on the other side of the world, I am more than appreciative of all informed coverage.

Two quick questions: have the Bills had talks with Brandon Moore. if not, why not?

Secondly, it is all but impossible to follow college football from here. However, I have watched Keith Pough’s highlights. Admittedly, highlights can be very misleading, but he looked terrific. Why was he not drafted? What chance does he have of making the team?

Thanks,
Jeff Wallace,
Sydney, Australia

CB: Thanks for the kind words. To my knowledge the Bills have not talked to Brandon Moore. Obviously, Bills head coach Doug Marrone knows him extremely well. He was the Jets assistant offensive line coach, who turned him from a defensive lineman to a very successful guard on the offensive side. So there’s a relationship there. At age 33, he’s probably not what the Bills are looking for knowing they want to build this roster from the ground up with players that will be here for the long haul.

However, if they do not like what they feel they are getting from the guard spot you can’t rule out the Bills making a phone call to the veteran.

As for Keith Pough, he’s a bit undersized and did not perform well at the Combine, especially when it came to his 40 time (4.87). He also played at a lower level of college competition at Howard. That doesn’t mean he can’t make an NFL roster, but it discourages NFL clubs from taking a chance on him with a draft choice. Signing him as an undrafted offers less risk. I do know that the Bills are high on him among their undrafted group.

Here during OTAs there are a few kick return candidates on the roster and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman is not short on talent.

Taking reps on kick return in OTAs this week were Marquise Goodwin, T.J. Graham, Brad Smith and Tashard Choice. Leodis McKelvin has been mentioned as an option as well, but he’s been limited to just individual position drill work in practices coming off his groin surgery earlier this offseason.

Nevertheless the speed quota is more than filled in the return game for Buffalo.

The demanding cardio work that is a big part of Buffalo’s offseason conditioning program has had Bills players throwing up at times during workouts. But they know in the long run all the work to build their stamina and endurance now will pay off come the fall.

“It’s a lot of conditioning along with the speed stuff and the high tempo in the weight room, there’s no down time, it’s always going,” said Brad Smith. “It just gets the most out of you. The workouts are pretty tough.”

For offensive linemen like Kraig Urbik, who was asked to play heavier under the previous regime at around 330 pounds, the demands have shifted to lighter and faster.

“I’m actually dropping a lot of weight. I’m down 10 pounds,” Urbik told Buffalobills.com. “I’m going to keep doing it from my body standpoint. Running a high tempo offense I’m going to need to be in this kind of shape.”

Bills CB and primary return man Leodis McKelvin was inactive for last week’s game against Seattle due to a lingering groin injury. He also won’t practice here on Wednesday.

“No, I don’t think he’s going to make it today,” said head coach Chan Gailey.

When asked if he’d make it back to practice this week, Gailey did not sound optimistic.

“Maybe,” said Gailey. “Outside chance.”

If McKelvin is unable to play again this Sunday at Miami, expect Justin Rogers to return punts. Rogers and Brad Smith would presumably be back to return kickoffs, much like they did last week. Marcus Easley also helped return kicks last Sunday, but injured a hamstring and was declared out for Sunday’s game by Gailey on Monday.

Brad Smith and Spencer Johnson both did not practice Monday, but with both of them nicked up the coaching staff chose to give both of them a rest day.

“He’ll be fine,” said head coach Chan Gailey of Smith. “He just sat out today. He’ll be fine Wednesday I think. That’s what I understood.”

Smith is dealing with a sore hamstring.

As for Spencer Johnson he too was given a rest day for some assorted ailments he’s been dealing with. He too will return to the practice setting Wednesday. “We rested him today. He’s got multiple things, he’s just kind of beat up, so we rested him today. He’ll be back Wednesday.”

The Bills lead the league in kick return average (30.8) and face a Texans team that is in the bottom third of the league in kick coverage in Houston (23rd). Part of the problem has been their kicker Shayne Graham, who is struggling to get his kickoffs deep.

Through the Texans’ first seven games, Graham and the Texans are last in the league in touchback percentage (25.6%) which is almost half the league average (50%). Part of the reason the percentage is so low is because they have the second fewest touchbacks in the league (11) and the fourth-most kickoffs (45).

“I don’t think you can all of a sudden say if he’s kicking it two yards deep say it’s got to be out of the end zone,” said Houston head coach Gary Kubiak. “You can do what you can do. He does directional kick pretty good. The thing we’ve noticed he kicks off pretty well early in games and as the game goes on, they’re not as good. So we tried to focus on that trying to keep him focused on some things we think can help him.

“We’re going to have to be smart some of the things we do kicking the ball, too. If you know you can’t kick it out of the endzone then you better know where you’re kicking it and how you’re going to cover, so we’ve got our hands full there. Hopefully we can start to improve that this week.”

Bills head coach Chan Gailey is hopeful Houston’s struggles lead to opportunities for Leodis McKelvin and Brad Smith.

“I am seeing opportunities,” said Gailey. “I don’t want too many kickoff returns. You don’t want to go out there and have a chance for five or six, but the two or three they may kick you hope we get good returns on them to get good field position or points on them which happened in our last game.”

Brad Smith returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown in Buffalo’s last game in Week 7 against the Titans. Houston is last in the league in average drive start allowed giving opponents an average start of their own 26-yard line. Conversely, they’re last in their own average drive start, with a mark of their own 18.5-yard line.

Buffalo’s passing game hasn’t delivered quite as many big pass plays as they did at this point last season. In 2011 Buffalo was tied for 13th in the league with 13 pass plays of 25 or more after six games. This year they stand 23rd with nine. Below are the Bills’ 10 longest pass plays so far this season along with how far the pass traveled through the air on the play.

It didn’t have a whole lot of success in Week 2, but Buffalo’s Wildcat package with Brad Smith will continue to evolve and be put to use this season.

Head coach Chan Gailey even admitted the Wildcat package did not provide the desired results in the win over the Chiefs.

“The Wildcat looked like it was the first time we’d run it in a game, that’s what it looked like,” said Gailey. “It’s got rust all over it and we’ve got to polish it up, get it ready to go in the future and we’re going to continue to use it as many weeks as we see it being a viable part of our offense. So you’re going to see it some more. We’ve got to add some stuff to it, we’ve got to put in a few more things but I like where we’re heading with it.”

With the Bills choosing to add a running back with their vacant roster spot to make up for the loss of an injured Fred Jackson, instead of a WR with the loss of Nelson, it defines Buffalo’s roles at wideout now a bit better.

Buffalo now has the following receivers, who all should be available Sunday.

Chan Gailey makes it the receiver’s responsibility to know all of the wideout positions in the event that something like a season-ending injury happens to one of the regulars. With that now the case you could argue that all of the remaining wideouts could handle Nelson’s slot receiver role.

However, Donald Jones spent a great deal of time taking reps in the slot in the spring practices and was even kicked inside a good deal in training camp. We’ll wait and see what we get on Sunday, but I think it’s very likely that Jones becomes the primary slot receiver in three wide sets and guys like Graham and Martin take Jones’ role outside when Jones moves inside. C.J. Spiller is also a slot option, but that would seem more likely in a four wide look.